Business News
HEARST CORPORATION AND MARK BURNETT CREATE LONG-TERM MEDIA, PRODUCTION & EVENTS-BASED JOINT VENTURE
Tuesday 12. April 2011 - Hearst Corporation and Mark Burnett today announced that they have formed a long-term media, production and events-based joint venture, with Hearst acquiring a substantial interest in Burnetts existing production business as part of the new venture. The announcement was made by Frank A. Bennack, Jr., CEO of Hearst Corporation, and Mark Burnett. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The new global venture will focus on media content, producing events around that content, and spinning off television shows and other programming for new and emerging platforms based on Hearst brands, while expanding Burnetts domestic and international production business. Scott Sassa, president, Hearst Entertainment & Syndication, will lead the new ventures board of directors along with Burnett.
Commenting on the announcement, Bennack said, “The most successful companies are those that can surround the consumer with world-class content based on their brands. We see the media production business as a great opportunity to leverage Hearsts brands across platforms and continue our move into new businesses. We see this as a growth opportunity for us that diversifies our revenue streams and we are happy to have Marka visionary in the reality genreas a partner.
“Survivor is to nonfiction what I Love Lucy is to sitcoms; it is the starting point for all of todays storyline-based unscripted shows,” Sassa said. “This venture provides Mark a platform and freedom to continue and grow his unique type of innovation. Together, we have a vision to create shows that have 360-degree businesses built around them. We will create businesses around every screen that are both in- and out-of-home experiences, and linear and interactive in nature.”
Burnett said, “Im extremely grateful to be partnering with Hearst. Content is King, and with more screens needing entertaining content now than at any time in history, that statement is truer than ever. Hearsts iconic brands will be an incredible creative addition for me and will translate perfectly into the vision for the future that Frank, Scott and I all share. In fact, we already have great projects in the works.”
Burnett is the leading producer of unscripted television, with shows ranging from Survivor, The Apprentice and Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? to The Peoples Choice Awards, The MTV Movie Awards, Shark Tank and many others series and specials. His upcoming series include The Voice (NBC), Expedition Impossible (ABC) and the Audrina Patridge Show (VH-1). Burnett has produced more than 1,100 hours of programming that regularly airs in more than 70 countries worldwide.